Agency Management System Selection & Buyers Guide - Synergist

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YOUR BUSINESS FOCUS – What do you want the system to do for you? .... previous firm, and from industry associations an
System Selection and Implementation Guide Job Costing & Project Management Systems

January 2013 V100

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Contents YOUR BUSINESS FOCUS – What do you want the system to do for you?

3

KEY CONSIDERATIONS – Five essentials to consider

4

SUPPLIER SELECTION – Best Practice

5

FUNCTIONALITY CHECKLIST

6

IMPORTANCE OF TESTIMONIALS

7

THE IMPLEMENTATION OPTIONS

8

MIGRATING TO A NEW SYSTEM

9

THINGS TO AVOID

10

IMPACT ON – The Finance Director | Finance / Administration

11

IMPACT ON – The Managing Director | The Account Handler

12

IMPACT ON – The Timesheet User | The Studio Manager

13

IN CONCLUSION

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Your business focus WHAT DO YOU WANT THE SYSTEM TO DO FOR YOU? What can the best

job costing and project management systems on

the market deliver? We recently asked agency and consultancy managers about their expectations for new systems. Six factors led the field.

Agencies and consultancies vary in their degree of commercial-focus. How much does yours have? For some companies it’s all about the financials. Others have less focus on those areas. Where on that spectrum does yours sit? And where do you want it to be? What are the biggest gaps between where you are and where you want to be?

With these issues in mind... Welcome! The selection process can begin...

The purpose of this document is to help buyers discover how to harvest the best returns from their next system. These pages are designed to help: Think of them as the Big Six Classic Wins that you can expect from good systems. So, when you invest in a system, can you guarantee it will deliver all these? It’s not quite as simple as that. The truth is that different systems focus on different things for different types of company. So you need to be sure what kind of a business you are. Before going any further, therefore, consider this:

• • • • • •

clarify the opportunities available ask great questions, including some they might not have thought of avoid several pitfalls choose between different types of implementations communicate well with team members about their forthcoming system choose the optimal system for their company

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Key Considerations FIVE ESSENTIALS TO CONSIDER To reach those six classic wins there are several crucial considerations

might not be your number one concern today. But why buy a system that

to take into account:

restricts your future options? With some systems you would find one day that you have outgrown its capabilities, giving you no choice but to start all over

1. Flexibility

again. Whereas others can grow with you, even handling hundreds of users.

Much software today is very rigid. Users choosing such systems have to change the way they do things simply to fit the software they have bought. And when their circumstances alter later, as they almost always do, there is no easy way for such software to accommodate them. Some software, however, is flexible, so seek it out. 2. Complete Solution Some systems are designed from the ground up to optimise the commercial aspects of running an agency or consultancy. It’s a specialised area affecting the way the features are written, collect just the right data, connect into an intelligent whole and report crucial information to staff and managers. So, if your firm scores commerciality highly, make sure you include vendors on your shortlist that have a good reputation for delivering on it. 3. Scalability It’s hard to predict how your company might develop over the years. Growth

4. Can you work with the supplier? This is one important factor that’s impossible to verify from studying vendor websites. How well will your team get on with the consultant, the implementer and the trainer? How experienced is their team in working with your type of firm? Or in understanding your needs and listening to your concerns? Find out all you can about them. Ultimately, it’s only by talking with the vendor, engaging in social networking and following up on user testimonials that you can get answers here. 5. Stability of product and supplier You want your system to serve you for years to come. What is the track record of the software and the supplier? How committed are they to this marketplace? Are they trading profitably? Is their reputation solid? These are important questions to resolve – you deserve a system you can depend on.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Supplier Selection BEST PRACTICE Here are six best practice steps when looking for a new system. 1. Define your key requirements and critical success factors Consider what you need to be successful. Separate them from things that are important but not essential, and from mere nice-to-haves.

5. Initial demonstrations Send your requirements to vendors and ask them to show how they match up. Assess if each feature is fully or partially addressed, needs a simple workaround or is planned for the future. Then decide which to see in demos. In those, focus on your key requirements. Ask for the demonstrator’s input

2. Get key people on board and select a system champion Identify your key people. You want to capture their knowledge, gain their buy-in and select a system champion – someone who knows the business, has the trust of staff, communicates well and will make the right decisions.

on best working practices to see how well they grasp it. Be wary of vendors showing functions that look good but don’t show a benefit. Note that you can conduct these initial demos online to save time. They could take 1½ - 2 hours. The purpose of the demos is to select a shortlist for investigation. You are

3. Resist the temptation to bring someone in temporarily

looking to meet your specific needs, including usability, so don’t be sidetracked.

The system champion will end up knowing a great deal of your business

Does it feel like something you could use day to day? Don’t judge a system just

processes and will be training new staff as they arrive. It’s not a job for a temp.

on appearance. Just because it has a nice look does not mean it is easy to use.

4. Create a list of potential suppliers

6. Create a shortlist of serious contenders for detailed meetings, 2-3 max

You can create this by web searches, asking new starters about systems from a

Prepare sample scenarios that cause you problems today. Have vendors demo

previous firm, and from industry associations and business contacts.

separate business areas and invite key team members to each. If a vendor

Word of mouth is alive and well in our industry. This includes seeing how

declines to give a detailed onsite demo, think very carefully about their likely

vendors are rated in social media and whether one, for example, tries to hijack

level of service. It could also be an indication that they feel they are not a good

threads to their own ends. A reputable vendor will let their customers speak.

solution for you in the first place. And always ask for reference sites.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Functionality Checklist YOUR GUIDE TO THE ESSENTIALS Here’s a master checklist of top-level functionality you should be looking for when considering a system:

Time & Money

Planning & Tracking

Communicating & Sharing

Reporting & Management

New Business

Time & expense recording

Scheduling

Client portal – online client access to jobs

Key reports

Opportunity tracking

Job/Project costing

Capacity planning

Online approval and DAM

Emailed alerts of potential problems

Lead generation

Billing

Project planning

Email integration

Scheduled reports

Marketing campaigns

Accounts integration

Job/project tracking

Document management

Drag & drop reporting

Estimating & quoting

CRM

Purchasing

Mobile app

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Importance of testimonials REAL PEOPLE, SAYING REAL THINGS

Learning things the hard way is costly. Why not benefit from the experience of others? When you’re thinking of acquiring something as important as a system on which to run your entire agency or consultancy, it makes sense to learn what you can from those who have already made the move. A supplier worth its salt should be able to provide you with any number of references from all types of clients. The full list itself may not be published online for reasons of confidentiality, but if you ask in good faith you should be allowed to see it. When evaluating references, quotes and case studies, make sure they cover a diverse range of topics so that you can focus on the aspects you are most interested in, rather than merely a single strand. The chart on the right shows topics you might expect from such a list.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

The Implementation Options IT’S YOUR CHOICE Here are two

classic but very different approaches you can choose

from when planning your implementation.

1. Fast track implementations Based on best-practice methods. Ideal for agencies and consultancies that:

• • •

want quick wins and the fastest return on investment are happy to accept best-practice advice as guidance want to avoid a process of analysing their current working methods in

2. Consultative implementations In this approach, the configuration of Synergist is very closely mapped to your existing processes and procedures, via close consultation. Ideal for firms that:

• • •

detail, preferring to get started and consider incremental changes later



are not very interested in examining multiple approaches, preferring to

appreciate that best practice may well raise efficiencies in themselves



want to compare their ideas with best-practice approaches in order to see which is best for them are keen to make sure that when the system is up and running it will

want a system that embraces their firm’s unique methods and hard-won competitive uniqueness



see that investigating their current methods may well uncover valuable scope for efficiencies and even increase departmental collaboration

want quick benefits to give early encouragement to users & management want implementation timescales to be accurately scheduled at the outset

which can be improved

deliver the maximum possible return

get on with the implementation and enjoy the benefits quickly

• • • • •

want to take the opportunity to investigate their own methods and see



want go the extra mile to do it once and do it right

prefer easy solutions that increase confidence in the resulting system

Note that not all vendors offer a full consultative approach, however. Further,

want the lowest cost

not all systems offer built-in flexibility of functionality. For agencies and consultancies who value both these traits they should consider vendor selection particularly carefully.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Migrating to a new system Until recently, the majority of firms choosing a job / consultancy

When planning the move, consider quite why you are switching. The

management system were previously using manual or spreadsheet

important thing is to avoid repeating the same problems with the new system.

methods. However in 2012 over 50% of businesses implementing Synergist

What were the previous selection criteria?

were migrating from another job management system, exceeding manual

If you are switching from a manual or spreadsheet-based system, the

systems for the first time. The industry is experiencing a swathe of second-

implementation is more straightforward, of course. The main benefits you will

generation switching from one vendor’s system to another. This is almost

experience are:

always because of user frustrations due to lack of needed features, poor end-toend integration or unacceptable service levels. When switching from one system to another you will obviously want as smooth an implementation as possible. A note of caution: if your previous system was hosted, termination of the agreement will result in losing access to all your data. You are advised to seek evidence of your new vendor’s experience in transferring data across. A vendor should have comprehensive migration facilities.

• • • • • • •

Multi-user operation Graphical representation of job progress, e.g. by thermometer Web-based functionality for working off-site Instant reports and analysis Direct link to major accounts packages Real-time budget management Automated email alert notifications

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Things to avoid DON’T LEARN THESE THE HARD WAY

Synergist, along with Express Systems, have been implementing job / project

training time is wasted while people debate how they want the system to flow

management systems for over fifteen years now, so we hope we might be

for them, and users can become confused and lose confidence.

forgiven for saying that we have learned a thing or two along the way. Here are

3. Free groups up for the half-day training sessions

some things to avoid that come to mind.

Continuing with the training theme, it’s smart to plan how the company will

1. Involve different departments in the process, including Finance

function while staff training is in progress. It’s not that training takes a long time

It’s important to involve multiple departments when implementing your new

– it doesn’t – but you want to get it right. You don’t want to disturb the training

system. In some implementations we’ve seen, finance team members have not

sessions if possible.

been involved in system choice and implementation. The result is rarely a great

4. Customer support

execution. But a balance does need to be struck. Don’t let one department

The importance of good support is often overlooked. Users who have

make all the decisions. For example you wouldn’t want to over-complicate life

sudden queries want accurate answers, fast. They may be under pressure.

by setting up a level of analysis that sounds good in theory but that no-one is

Sadly, our industry has a mixed reputation in support, so this is one factor for

going to look at in practice.

prospective purchasers to investigate very fully. Look for suppliers who offer

2. Don’t do planning during training You will need to clarify how you want jobs to flow through your business.

large numbers of reference sites. They can’t do this if they don’t keep their clients happy.

The implementers can help you. But sometimes we’ve seen people postpone all

5. Don’t buy a system based on looks

that and get the training started. It’s not the smart way of doing things: valuable

Focus on what’s critical for your business, and check to see if the proposed system really delivers on it. You wouldn’t buy a car without test-driving it.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Impact & Involvement One of the key elements of a successful implementation is how it is presented and sold to key members of your company. To aid in your communications, on these pages is a summary of benefits as they apply to six different roles.

1 THE FINANCE DIRECTOR

2 FINANCE / ADMINISTRATION

FDs seek validation that systems will deliver live centralised data on profits by

These team members naturally want a system that makes their life easier, not

client, market sector, type of work and team, tracked against target and with

more complicated. Changing to a new system can be worrisome. It should be

drill-down data. They look for tools to aid cash flow, e.g. making billing as

clear to use and make the individual far more productive than before. People in

speedy and fault-free as possible. Early invoicing is a major profit contributor,

such roles seek: Ease of use. They want to pick up a new system quickly.

considered an ‘easy win’ by FDs implementation veterans. Other needs:

Good training is important, and this can be underestimated. Don’t take it for

• • • • • • •

Return on investment analysis.

granted – check the vendor’s credentials on it. Dependability. They want

High-quality endorsements from FDs and MDs of similar companies.

validation that the system will be reliable and not let them down. Have

Seamless links to the accounting system.

excellent support. Users want to be in safe hands. Check for first class hand-

A fully-connected system showing the same live data for all.

holding when going live, plus high quality ongoing support by phone, email and

Transparency for large clients that demand it.

online. Check if the vendor has good online knowledge-based information

Painless scalability for future growth.

systems that users can access. Most of all, the litmus test of service for most

Robust product quality and outstanding customer service.

people rests on the quality of live telephone support. Is there always someone

The FD role is also invaluable in specifying the needs of the company at

available to talk to? How knowledgeable is the support team? How quickly are

implementation.

queries resolved? Only user testimonials can answer these questions.

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Impact & Involvement 4 THE ACCOUNT HANDLER

3 THE MANAGING DIRECTOR

Benefits that MDs often value are:

• • • • • • • •

As the link between client and the company, account handlers are the peace-

Total live visibility of jobs and projects

keeper, the diplomat, the grand persuader and the person at the front line of the

Real-time work-in-progress summary reports

action. Such a job relies heavily on accurate joined-up information such as:

Profitability reports by client, job, department, team New business forecasts Staff utilisation reports Key reports emailed to them automatically on set days References from other MDs Validation of ROI

A classic example of the last two bullet points is a quote from a Synergist user Managing Director – Fred Brown of Last Exit – that MDs will look for. "It comes down to ROI... We have increased our turnover by £200k for an investment of £10k. That is a no brainer."

• • • • • • •

Quick and easy invoice creation Instant access to contact details Attachments to briefs so all information is in one place Job history archives Work-in-progress information Estimates vs Actuals Profitability of jobs and clients

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Impact & Involvement 6 THE STUDIO MANAGER

5 THE TIMESHEET USER

Timesheets are no-one’s favourite. But there’s no denying their immense value.

The role of an agency Studio Manager / Work Scheduler / Traffic Manager is a

How could any firm manage for long without knowing which jobs and clients are

world is of deadlines and details. They are the professional jugglers, grappling

profitable, with time to correct problems before it’s too late? So, the need for

with resources, availability and capacities that constantly change. They look for

timesheets is clear. How can they be made as fast and easy as possible to fill in?

• •

Many systems offer web browser-based time entry, ensuring time can be entered from any device connected to the internet. Good systems offer multiple time entry interfaces, including daily /weekly, plus prefilled timesheets based on resource scheduling. Users can select

• •

the interface that works best for them. Users don’t even need to know the job number. Selecting the client name and job description should trigger the job number automatically. Good timesheet interfaces can also show the users how many hours have been budgeted for the task, when it’s due and – with a single click – give them access to all attached files and related emails.

• • • • • • • • • •

Easy-to-use visual scheduling tools Everything pulled together into one live system Information already in one area, e.g. estimating, to speed up data entry in another, e.g. scheduling Capacity planning reports with loading on departments, teams, individuals Timesheet analysis Alerts when jobs start to go over budget Deadline management Client approval tracking Utilisation reports Forecasted hours reports

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

In conclusion... …A SUMMARY ON ONE PAGE How do you go about choosing a job / project management system? We’d say that when you boil it all down there are only four questions for you to really get to grips with:

1. 2. 3.

Does the system offer real flexibility to deliver what you need now and into the future?

4.

Are you focusing on your essential requirements? Don’t get sidetracked.

Does the system pull everything together into one connected whole? Is the customer support so dependable that your mind is put at rest?

Get these fundamentals right and you can’t go so very far wrong. Finally, one more question. When is the ideal time to make a decision like this? We hope you’ll forgive us for quoting Steve Revell on it. He is Managing Director of Maleon, a Synergist user. He said: "We decided that there’s no magic perfect time to install a management system. We’d recommend that firms should just do it as soon as they can. Bite the bullet!" We hope you found this Guide useful. We love to talk about job and project management systems – it’s what we do all the time. So feel free to give us a call to chat about it. Wishing you well with your new system... The Synergist team

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Successful Project Management: System Selection & Implementation Guide

Synergist, the trusted job costing and project management system helps agencies and consultancies take control of their business and improve profitability.

Authoring and support by Synergist. Implementations and training by Express Systems.

www.exsystems.co.uk

www.synergist.co.uk

Phone

01625 572690

Email

[email protected]